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[piecewise]

Well, in reality you could condense it to

"Make things habitable for humanity"

But the reason I put it like this is because the thing is gonna take what it knows, the world around it and use evolutionary systems to try and create the best possible solution. And without any baseline parameters it might create a base without doors, because that provides the best radiation shielding; and the base is self contained so there's no reason to let anyone outside!


Really we just need a list of basic features you want all bases to have. Not like power generators, but less obvious things. Windows, or rec rooms or quarantine rooms or things like that.

((when it comes right down to it I just want an outline of what kind of base you want so I don't have to spend a while thinking about it and possibly leave things out like a tard))

Well, thing is, in some situations it really might be better to keep the people closed in if there's lethal radiation storms outside, whereas in other said storms might be weak enough to warrant letting people outside. I'll quote something from the tinker thread to try and give you a better idea of what I mean:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Okay.  For the ships which do have humans on them, how will they interact with the AIs?  Will there be a captain which has supreme authority?  Does the AI have its own moral system which can't be completely overridden by said captain?  How much can the AI say "no" to?  Can it say no to indefinitely detaining or permafreezing a human?  Murdering someone?  Murdering almost everyone on the ship?

I think a sort of 'benevolent dictatorship', like what we have going with Steve right now, would do the trick. The AI has final authority, but is programmed to allow as much freedom to colonists as possible unless it hampers the colony overly much. How the colonists organize themselves will be up to them, but again the AI acts as a sort of buffer against excesses (if the colonists prefer a hereditary 'king' like person to lead them, they can have it, but if said king starts to demand too much or hampers the optimal functioning of the colony too much, the Ai intervenes).

For example, if the colonists decide that permafreezing is the punishment for irredeemable violent criminals, the AI might allow that, but if they then start to use that for petty crimes like a drunken brawl, it will intervene to prevent a lot of useful people getting locked away.

So basically the Ai is a sort of enlightened despot (or benevolent dictator) who tries to give freedom when he can, but will reign it in when necessary (eg. it won't intervene if the colonists wanna do things in a way that's slightly less optimal, but if there's a crisis that needs everyone to act this exact way right now or the colony is destroyed, then it will go full tyrant mode until the crisis is averted).

So, it would basically try to give the colonists as much freedom and quality of life as it can afford without endangering the long-term survival of the colony.

That's why I have difficulty setting up a standard requirements list, because different universes might ask for radically unconventional base designs. From the Wikipedia page on 'Colonization of Mars':

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Habitats
Storage facilities
Shop workspaces
Resource extraction equipment—initially for water and oxygen, later for a wider cross section of minerals, building materials, etc.
Energy production and storage equipment, some solar and perhaps other forms as well
Food production spaces and equipment.
Propellant production equipment, generally thought to be hydrogen and methane through the Sabatier reaction[39] for fuel—with oxygen oxidizer—for chemical rocket engines
Fuels or other energy source for use with surface transportation. Carbon monoxide/oxygen (CO/O2) engines have been suggested for early surface transportation use as both carbon monoxide and oxygen can be straightforwardly produced by zirconium dioxide electrolysis from the Martian atmosphere without requiring use of any of the Martian water resources to obtain hydrogen.[40]
Communication equipment

So, a list like this would be the minimal requirements for any colony, but how each item is achieved is difficult to predict.

For example, on a planet with good, livable conditions outside, the colony might decide not to build a real rec room and instead just let colonists entertain themselves outside, saving resources for other projects. But then in another universe, where due to circumstances usable space is really limited, it might decide to provide all leisure through VR machines because there just isn't any room for a real life rec room. And in a third it might decide that a regular rec room is an acceptable use of resources. But that all depends on the circumstances, which vary so wildly (at least, from what I've seen from the universes explored already) I dunno if any 'standard requirements list' would be worth anything.

If you are afraid that you won't be able to come up with a good base design for a particular universe, you could always just ask us for inspiration. Or, ask yourself the question 'what are the main difficulties and limitations for this universe? How do they relate to filling need X? How could that need still be fulfilled then?

Remember that you won't have to describe (or even work out) every colony in every universe we send these to, just when necessary.   

Fair enough. You can leave this entirely in the computer's hands then, if you want.  But it's gonna at LEAST need a prime directive. Some overriding goal for its construction and management. Just in case it runs into things it has no background for.

[Radio Controlled]

Fair enough. You can leave this entirely in the computer's hands then, if you want.  But it's gonna at LEAST need a prime directive. Some overriding goal for its construction and management. Just in case it runs into things it has no background for.

I'll think on that. Sorry for not being able to be more accommodating, by the way. If it's any consolation, I'm putting syv through much the same, so the two of you could start a club or something.

Okay.  I think you should ask PW how much EUEs can be pre-assembled, though.  Can a large one send a medium one to another verse, which then successfully sends a small one to a third verse, which then successfully sends a USB to the home verse?  Or will the EUE just fizzle when it changes verse?  Would preconstructing all the parts at home but assembling them in a different verse solve fizzling?

Yeah, probably best we ask him what the deal is with this.

So, what's the deal with airline food EUE's? Can an EUE be sent whole to another universe, and will it work in there? Can it be shipped in parts and assembled on-site?

Also, could force infusers be used to drive spaceships around? Meaning that with just these and some blueshard bats you could forego reaction mass and engines and such?

[Devastator]

could artifacts (and artifact-derived equipment) start failing as the universe is breaking?

As a second question..

Why are you guys duplicating the Steve issue all over again?

[syvarris]

@Radio
While it would be nice to have FA ships in our own universe, PW shot down the idea of using them in other 'verses.  I tested FAs in a couple of 'verses which looked semi-promising, and they only worked in the analverse, and even then they produced light instead of kinetic energy,

[Radio Controlled]

@Radio
While it would be nice to have FA ships in our own universe, PW shot down the idea of using them in other 'verses.  I tested FAs in a couple of 'verses which looked semi-promising, and they only worked in the analverse, and even then they produced light instead of kinetic energy,

Dang. So we're back to engines and reaction mass then I take it?

[Toaster]

Might want to put a SCIENCE team on better engines that don't rely on amps, then.

[MidnightJaguar]

I was thinking of making a grenade based off the crystalline projector. It has the shape of a pineapple grenade

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

With crystalline projector seed crystals set in each section of the pineapple grenade.There is aster ex in the center and when it explodes it sends the seed crystals everywhere like your standard frag grenade.

Hmm.  This is a pretty good idea.  It'd be a great method of area denial in addition to the normal role of area murder--step on the crystals, they eat your foot.

Cost is hard to say, because it's black box tech--I don't know how crystalline projectors work.  If you're essentially just copying the same design, minimum cost per grenade would be 2t, because that's the cost for a CP magazine.  However, you could ask PW if you can get it cheaper because the magazine doesn't need to function with the gun--maybe the two tokens of cost are for propulsion or something.

Alternatively, the council might give you a discount, though they tend to err on the side of too expensive.

Oh, and I'll just say you make this a brisant grenade.  There's no loss compared to the pineapple design, and it makes the grenade more useful.

Two questions: Can I get the crystal grenade cheaper than the ammo for the crystalline projector? Also, is a crystalline grenade even possible to make as weapon given it's black box nature?

[Unholy_Pariah]

ask for a pocket dimension to test within other universe's.

if you can generate a stable doorway you can pull out infinite reaction mass, and it breaks down really quickly so it wont leave any pollution or radiation behind.

[piecewise]

Fair enough. You can leave this entirely in the computer's hands then, if you want.  But it's gonna at LEAST need a prime directive. Some overriding goal for its construction and management. Just in case it runs into things it has no background for.

I'll think on that. Sorry for not being able to be more accommodating, by the way. If it's any consolation, I'm putting syv through much the same, so the two of you could start a club or something.

Okay.  I think you should ask PW how much EUEs can be pre-assembled, though.  Can a large one send a medium one to another verse, which then successfully sends a small one to a third verse, which then successfully sends a USB to the home verse?  Or will the EUE just fizzle when it changes verse?  Would preconstructing all the parts at home but assembling them in a different verse solve fizzling?

Yeah, probably best we ask him what the deal is with this.

So, what's the deal with airline food EUE's? Can an EUE be sent whole to another universe, and will it work in there? Can it be shipped in parts and assembled on-site?

Also, could force infusers be used to drive spaceships around? Meaning that with just these and some blueshard bats you could forego reaction mass and engines and such?

We don't know, but it should. It's using arrangements that are universal, not based on Origin.  It could be shipped in parts, yes.

Think this got answered later.

could artifacts (and artifact-derived equipment) start failing as the universe is breaking?

As a second question..

Why are you guys duplicating the Steve issue all over again?

Failing? Depends on your definition.

I was thinking of making a grenade based off the crystalline projector. It has the shape of a pineapple grenade

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

With crystalline projector seed crystals set in each section of the pineapple grenade.There is aster ex in the center and when it explodes it sends the seed crystals everywhere like your standard frag grenade.

Hmm.  This is a pretty good idea.  It'd be a great method of area denial in addition to the normal role of area murder--step on the crystals, they eat your foot.

Cost is hard to say, because it's black box tech--I don't know how crystalline projectors work.  If you're essentially just copying the same design, minimum cost per grenade would be 2t, because that's the cost for a CP magazine.  However, you could ask PW if you can get it cheaper because the magazine doesn't need to function with the gun--maybe the two tokens of cost are for propulsion or something.

Alternatively, the council might give you a discount, though they tend to err on the side of too expensive.

Oh, and I'll just say you make this a brisant grenade.  There's no loss compared to the pineapple design, and it makes the grenade more useful.

Two questions: Can I get the crystal grenade cheaper than the ammo for the crystalline projector? Also, is a crystalline grenade even possible to make as weapon given it's black box nature?

Eh, probably not on both accounts.

[MidnightJaguar]

What does the crystalline projector look like?
On the subject of the crystalline grenade, since I can't mess with the ammo itself due to the black box nature of it, could I instead just take a bunch of aster ex and stick it to one side of a crystalline projector ammo clip so that when the aster ex explodes it shoots all of the seed crystals at once?

[NAV]

Is Pimp metal springy?

[piecewise]

What does the crystalline projector look like?
On the subject of the crystalline grenade, since I can't mess with the ammo itself due to the black box nature of it, could I instead just take a bunch of aster ex and stick it to one side of a crystalline projector ammo clip so that when the aster ex explodes it shoots all of the seed crystals at once?

Hmm well you could but that would probably just blow up the seed crystals.

The projector looks like a small box with a blunt looking cone on the front and a sharp, longer spike on the side.

Is Pimp metal springy?

If it's shaped into a spring it is 

[Devastator]

Failing? Depends on your definition.

Failing to operate as designed.

[Parisbre56]

Image of shapeshifting springs going down stairs comes to mind.

[Radio Controlled]

ask for a pocket dimension to test within other universe's.

if you can generate a stable doorway you can pull out infinite reaction mass, and it breaks down really quickly so it wont leave any pollution or radiation behind.

Not a bad idea!

Hey pw, do pocket dimensions seem to work in other universes? And could they be used to create infinite reaction mass, or do they become unstable once too much material is pulled out and not replaced?